The Highgate Hill Residence by Richard Kirk Architects:
The Highgate Hill Residence is located on a south facing ravine adjacent to one Brisbane’s oldest ridgeline roads ? Dornoch Terrace. The steepness of the rectangular site has resulted in a verdant and mature landscape consisting of a mixture of native and exotics, which created the opportunity to place the house within a rich landscape environment.
As a result of the steepness of the site and the desire to connect the house to an outdoor ground plane the house adopts two distinct identities ? the north (landscape) and east (street) is a diminutive floating single level volume hovering over fine steel pins ? the south and west (distant views) the vertical and monumental character is revealed of the tall three level residence.
To the North and East, the living level embraces the landscape as the upper level hovers over the ground plane as a protective canopy. In these areas where the building is more intimate, the materials and detailing are deliberately fine and diminutive. Fine vertical timber members screen the building upper level to the street provide a public fa?ade of a veil of timber screens that works as a series of layers laid over the building volume. The upper level of the Northern walls have a fa?ade of glazed vertical timber mullions or sticks which open the interior to the landscape and the filtered northern light through the tree canopy’s. To integrate the landscape with the living spaces on the middle level, the external openings are of a significant scale so that the internal floor plate opens up completely to the outdoor spaces that consist of a series of floating platforms of constructed ground planes of timber decking or turf. To celebrate the transition from i
